


Demon in a Belfry

by DustOnBothSides



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Brendol Hux's A+ Parenting, Demon!Kylo, First Kiss, Kylux Positivity Week, Kylux Positivity Week 2020, M/M, Snoke Being a Dick, Traps, Winter, demon!Hux
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:48:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22605745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DustOnBothSides/pseuds/DustOnBothSides
Summary: Demon Prince Kylo Ren, the best warrior of the Flamebird Kingdom, was sent by his mother, the Demon Queen Organa, to investigate the breach of a buffer zone between their realm and the Blackstar Empire. In a belfry he found a dangerous demon. Custom said he ought to kill him.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 12
Kudos: 79
Collections: Kylux Positivity Week 2020





	Demon in a Belfry

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Kylux Positivity Week 2020.

The blizzard calmed down to a spiral dance of tiny ice crystals chased across the road by swift, biting winds. The broken road was framed by deformed electric pylons bent during the Great War into shapes of such grotesqueness, they resembled mountain spruces stooped under layers of frozen snow. This wintry landscape was certainly in no lack of tranquillity. 

Still. 

Horrifying traces of the bygone conflict remained. Abandoned housing estates marred by soot, their walls melted, pockmarked, and gouged by artillery, family houses reduced to nothing but chimneys and bearing walls, huge craters visible even under all that snow, hastily erected grave markers. And all of this was slowly being reclaimed by nature. Saplings began to take root in the strangest of places – in the corner of a window-sill, on top of a chimney, inside a crack splitting a flight of stairs. 

Kylo closely observed his surroundings as he entered deeper and deeper into the abandoned area which acted as a buffer zone between two mighty demon realms – the Flamebird Kingdom, his homeland, ruled by the Demon Queen Leia Organa, and the Blackstar Empire held in the tight grasp of Supreme Leader Snoke, who took its reins after the previous leadership had been felled by the Flamebird Queen and her loyal troops. 

To the prince, this was all but history. By the time he was born, the Yavin-Alderaan line was already dead and still, lost to both kingdoms. 

Or _should’ve been._

In spite of the growing tensions between the two kingdoms, no one tried to retake this area, as that would’ve been both a violation of their treaties and a pretty stupid thing to do. Even after all those years, both sides had canons and magic rods pointed at every square meter of the land, which itself was polluted by ever-shifting patches of fallout from magic-cancelling weaponry. 

No one had ever trespassed in there, not even to erect any memorials. The entirety of the line served as one. A constant reminder of the tragedies which had transpired there. Because of them, there was no interest among the general populace to return to those accursed places. Demons, humans, were-creatures, revenants - the Yavin-Alderaan line held too many bad memories for all. Even the occasional celestial being, which descended into the demon dominions for the sake of observation or study, seemed to regret those tragic occurrences. 

Which begot the question - just _who_ was the soul foolish enough to roam such place? 

Kylo raised the collar of his heavy woollen coat and picked up the pace, swiping the snow drifts with the tip of his spiny, crimson-coloured tail. 

Two days ago, clairvoyants had reported on movement within the ruins, and since dispatching even a mere squad of guards could be seen as a violation of treaties, Demon Queen Organa sent her most accomplished warrior instead. Her son. 

His orders were clear. Find the intruders, learn their numbers and intent and, should they be armed and violent, dispatch of them. 

It should’ve been a quick affair. Get in, get out. 

And yet…

Kylo enjoyed this. More than he should’ve. The silence of this place. The immaculateness of the snow drifts, the strange shape of the walls half-melted and twisted by some of the more ingenious spells. The fresh, invigorating smell of snow and the sharp sting of the wind against his cheeks. He could feel small icicles beginning to form on his horns and found himself not caring. His mother would’ve scolded him. Horns were the pride of any demon. The more powerful one was, the more developed they were. Kylo’s were branched, some offshoots curving, and they were coloured deep crimson with some gold blooming through like minute stars. He was rather proud of them, especially once he found out how much they resembled his grandfather’s. 

He could’ve used his wings, presently disguised as a part of his scarf billowing innocently in the wind, to speed the mission up, but he found it a relief to be away from Chandrila City - from mother and her court, from his uncle who taught him magic, philosophy and proper conduct, from his half-sister Rey who bested him in everything which didn’t require raw force. This felt just too good and whoever it was, who had decided to intrude into this graveyard of a town, Kylo found himself wanting to talk to that person. To get to know them. 

Unless it was a group of Blackstar spies who had foolishly decided to make it their outpost for further intrusions into the Flamebird territory. Then he’d obliterate them without as much as a _‘hello’_. 

After a while, he noticed a tall belfry which remained, miraculously enough, still in one piece, though it appeared to have been hit by one of the stranger spells which made it sprout several malformed copies of itself. When he took a closer look, he could even spot vestigial imitations of bells inside. A disquieting sight indeed. 

And there, in one of the windows, there he noticed a flicker of a movement. 

The wind was just right, so he took a deep breath and picked up a scent just as he knew he would. The musky smell of a body accompanied by the aroma of steel and gunpowder, and a slight hint of spice, the essence of demons, albeit very faint, as if the person inside was not well. There was no prickly buzz accompanying the presence of a magic-user or the sickly sweet hint of rot pointing towards a revenant. 

Kylo buried his hands deep in the pockets of his coat and set off in that direction, inwardly shaking his head. The belfry was literally the worst place the intruder could’ve chosen as his hideout. Easy to spot, easier to destroy. 

He stopped in front of the structure and looked up. There were no signs of life, but Kylo’s nose, perhaps _the_ best nose in the entire kingdom, told him the intruder was still in there. Kylo considered his options, then elected direct approach. 

“Ah… _I know you’re in there! Unless you prove to me that you aren’t a Blackstar spy, I’ll have to obliterate you!”_ He shouted.

As there was no answer, he decided to enter. Just to be on the safe side, he used his thought-gate to summon the usual spells into the marrow of his bones. Shield and protection spells into the left arm, destruction into the right. He idly wondered how would the bones of this intruder taste like, were he forced to go all the way to a complete annihilation of his target. His mother frowned on this practise as did his uncle and his cousin, but in some cases this was the only way to neutralize a threat. 

He reached one of the upper floors and was about to continue upwards, but his nose stopped him. His feet came to a halt as he scanned his surroundings. The room was teeming with rubble. Overturned furniture, piles of old clothes, dead branches brought from who knows where. 

And that scent. 

“Look. It’s not like I _have_ to kill you, but if you continue to be difficult, I might have to eat your bones to make sure y-“ 

He didn’t finish the sentence. Something flashed through the air, and a dozen of long, pointed darts buried themselves in the exact spot where he just stood a split of a second ago. But the safety he leapt into prove ephemeral, for it was immediately violated by the swish of a monofilament string which stank of silver. He ducked at the very last moment, which was the moment the floor exploded under him, sending him plummeting down to the bottom. Which he never hit. He was too angry at that point. Arching his wings, he shot back up, waved his right hand and swept the whole floor with a pressure spell. Everything was flung against the walls. Furniture, rags… and a white-clad figure he focused on. 

As if the intruder read his intentions, he bounded off the nearest surface with a surprising agility. Kylo’s right hand was too busy completing the destruction spell, but the left one, though defence-oriented, was not without tricks up its figural sleeve. An invisible barrier was formed and refracted within less than a second. It pressed against the intruder from all sides, effectively freezing him in place.

“That’s taken care of…” Kylo mumbled as he dusted his coat off. He glanced down at the darts still embedded in the wooden floor and pulled one out. It appeared to have been made from a piece of scrap metal that has been reworked and sharpened into a cruel little thing. 

“And now to take care of _you_ , Blackstar spy.” He added, crushing the dart in his fist and letting a crumpled, misshapen piece of steel fall to the floor, the imprints of his fingers clearly visible in its surface. 

“I’m no spy.” The intruder finally decided to speak. 

Kylo didn’t comment on that. Instead he took a good look at his prey. 

It was a demon, just as he predicted. But… different. His horns were neither ornate nor impressive; they were just unusually long, sharp and slender. There were no wings. The bones didn’t smell of any magic. And the tail had _white_ as its primary colour. A bad sign. Healthy, strong demons had healthy, strong colours. The richer the colour, the stronger the blood. White was the colour of weaklings. Just like his tail, the rest of the man was also dominated by black and white. Only his hair was different. It was the colour of flame.

“Not a spy, huh? No magic, no wings, the colouring of a runt... So what’s a useless-looking thing like you doing in an accursed place like this?”

The other demon’s cheeks flushed red and he visibly flinched at the word _‘useless’._

“I am _not_ a spy.”

“But you didn’t deny being from Blackstar.”

There was no reply for a while. And then- “The entry to this area has not been forbidden.”

“But military interventions and reconnaissance of any kinds are. And those are literally the _only two_ reasons why would _anyone_ want to set a foot in here.” 

“Obviously not.” Spat out the redhead. The disdain in his voice added an _‘obviously you’re too arrogant to consider any other options’_ to the reply so clearly, Kylo heard it without needing to probe his captive’s mind. 

“So you say. But I still think the best course of action would be to drag the truth out of your open jugular. I could suck your bones dry, but it doesn’t seem like you have much marrow for me to feast on.”

“Go and get fucked, spoiled princeling.” Hissed the man, though he visibly blanched upon hearing the threat. Kylo grudgingly admired his nerve. “No wonder you can’t imagine any other reason, with those stupid wings and that silly magic. Sod off back to your fawning peasants and rows of arse-kissers and leave me alone.”

Kylo wasn’t sure whether those words were meant to rile him up, but this was the effect they had. 

_Damn yapping loser has no idea._

No idea of those hushed whispers behind his back, his mother’s pained looks, his father’s continuous absence… and Rey. Everyone hailed her as the next demon queen, as the strongest of strong. He was the stronger one by far, but that brought instability and because of that, his family had always kept him… _slightly out of the way._

He wanted to squeeze that runt’s throat and pour those feelings straight into his vapid head, so he grabbed him by the collar-

-and realized he made a mistake. 

A second too late. 

There was a soft click followed by a cloud of something shooting right into his face. A heartbeat later he lost all feeling in his limbs and collapsed onto the floor in a boneless heap. Silver. And not only that. There had to be particles of magic-negating polymers blended into the dust, for he couldn’t use even the easiest of spells. 

“Try boasting now, princeling.” The redhead chuckled darkly as the barrier spells holding him melted away. 

He pulled something out of his pocket. A twine of briar and hair. With this he bound Kylo’s hands and feet together. Kylo’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. Surely this was _not_ happening. No demon with an ounce of pride would lower himself to such base tricks, mostly because most demons could not stand silver or any of these _human_ magic repellents. Still, the other’s goading should’ve alerted him to another trap, but instead of seeing through the ruse, he fell for it like an amateur. 

A part of him hoped his mother and the rest of the family would _never_ find out about this blunder, but that was just a secondary worry. 

He was completely helpless. That other demon could easily whisk him over to the Blackstar Empire. And if _that_ wasn’t a cause for a new war, then Kylo didn’t know what was. 

***

Kylo bit the inside of his lip, unsure who was he supposed to be angrier at - the intruder or himself for his carelessness. He had faced much stronger opponents in the past, demons and other beings, and not only survived, but came out victorious. He couldn’t believe that this runt-

His musings were interrupted by a sharp sting as the runt gave the bindings a finishing tug. He rolled Kylo onto his back - and paused. His brow furrowed, and he took a cautious sniff of the air. Then his eyes turned suddenly very bright as he dived his hands in the pockets of Kylo’s coat… to fish out a half-eaten stick of dried meat in a cheesy crust. 

Without further ado he mercilessly chomped the stick down, even going as far as licking the packaging in search for crumbs. Kylo suddenly realised that the reports of the intruder were a couple of days old, and he couldn’t smell any food around. 

For the first time he felt the gnaw of doubt. Dispatching a scout without any supplies didn’t make sense. No matter what he might discover, it would all be useless if he’d starve to death. Another thought followed close behind. What would any spy actually hope to learn from a place as dead as the Yavin-Alderaan line? 

The intruder licked the wrapper clean and stuffed it in his pockets instead of tossing it. Then he leaned in again and begun to sniff once more. It was useless, really. Kylo didn’t have anything else on him. But the redhead soon prove him wrong as he dug a half-melted, lint-covered toffee out of a pocket and threw it in his mouth without any hesitation. 

And then his movements stilled. 

Kylo hoped he was allergic to whatever toffee was made of, however the ginger just twitched, his fingers touching his lips. 

“W-what is this?” he asked with a strange expression. It could’ve been described as _awestruck_ , but who in the world was awestricken by a damn toffee?

“It’s a candy.” Kylo managed to say. 

“A candy? But it’s so… so creamy. And the thing before that. It was so…” he swished his hands wildly, trying to illustrate the point “…scrumptious.”

“It was just some cheap cheesy jerky. And an old one at that. What the heavens have you been eating to find _that_ amazing?”

“The usual rations made of bone-meal, protein, lichen, and vitamins. The basic food for any soldier.”

Kylo cringed. “What does it taste like?”

“…taste?” the redhead asked, puzzled. “It’s not supposed to taste of anything. It’s meant to provide nutrition.”

The other demon then pulled away. He walked off to the corner of the room and fiddled with something, most likely those accursed traps of his. Kylo observed him as well as he could from his position. The ginger’s coat was a military-style jacket, one of those used for winter warfare, but those gloves of his weren’t meant for harsh conditions. They were made of thin black leather and enveloped the skin underneath so tightly, Kylo could see the movement of sinews at the back of his hands. 

The demon pulled out a large piece of jagged metal with sharpened teeth and examined it in the faint light of the day. It was a makeshift weapon, but a truly frightful one. 

“You’re not a spy. You ran away.” Kylo stated as he finally put one and one together. 

The redheaded demon slowly turned to face him. Light falling through the window painted deep shadows in his face, accentuating his high cheekbones and the gentle curve of his lips. It also made his hair look like fine strands of copper. Kylo’s heart would’ve skipped a beat if it wasn’t for the look in those blue eyes. It chilled to the bone. 

There was a creak of leather as the grip on the makeshift knife tightened. 

“I can’t afford being caught. Leaving witnesses is a bad idea. I’ll have to move elsewhere, but no matter.”

He started to walk towards Kylo, who was still helpless under the influence of those laughably primitive folk remedies. 

Slowly. 

His feet made hardly a noise. 

“Your luck has ran out, princeling. It seems even demons strong enough to decimate whole armies can be beaten by a single _weak, useless runt._ ” 

The venom in those last three words told Kylo he better come up with something - and _fast._

“So you plan to shank me here - and then what? You want to spend the rest of your days crawling like a rat through the zone? We already know about you. You’ll be found, no matter where you hide. Our clairvoyants have spotted you once and they’ll do it again.”

“Still better than returning _there._ ” The intruder retorted, though there was the slightest hint of uncertainty in those words. 

“There’s nothing here. Either you’ll starve or, which is much more probable, my family will come to seek vengeance and make you _wish_ you were dead. Those who harm the royal family aren’t executed, oh no. They get to live a _very_ long life.” 

The redhead’s feet halted. 

“Royal family? So your mother-“

“Is Queen Organa, yes.”

Kylo hated this. Hated having to use his mother’s name to get out of trouble. But that look in his attacker’s eyes and the weapon in his hand didn’t leave him with any other option. 

And it worked. 

The demon pressed his lips together and rushed to the window to glance outside. 

“Don’t bother. I was sent to investigate alone. I suppose you could take me hostage, but we could do it otherwise. You could cut me free and come to the palace _with_ me. A guest instead of a prisoner.”

This offer was rewarded with a look of utter confusion with a dash of distrust. Nevertheless, Kylo knew he had the upper hand again. 

“Why would you do something so nonsensical?”

“Why not? You interest me. And, after all, as you’ve said yourself - you actually managed to best me. Not even Rey was able to do that.”

“So you _are_ a princeling…” the demon snorted and approached Kylo again, but this time to cut the twine. 

Kylo breathed a sigh of relief and massaged his wrists as the other demon quickly jumped out of reach. Once freed from the briar prison, he stretched his back luxuriously, unfurled his slightly rumpled wings and arched them, secretly enjoying the look of awe in his flightless kindred’s face. His magic didn’t fully return yet, but without the influence of the briar and the hair, his metabolism could break the anti-magic polymer down much faster. 

As soon as he was back up on his feet, he looked in the corner. The other demon clutched his knife in both hands and held it close to his body. 

“You think I’m going to kill you now?” Kylo asked. 

“That’s a possibility.”

“Still, you freed me in spite of that.”

“Death isn’t the worst option I face.”

“Hm… well, I’m not going to kill you. Do you trust me?”

“ _What?_ No, of course not.”

Kylo smiled. He has lowered his wings again, but left them still very much visible. He knew of the effect he had on others.

“Well, I’m planning to stay true to my word. I will protect you - and I can prove it to you.”

“How?”

“The way the likes of us seal their contracts. With a kiss, of course. Are you willing to receive it?”

The other demon looked away and nodded, rose tinting his cheeks. 

Kylo was charmed. Instead of bracketing the other’s much slighter body with his arms, he used his right hand to grasp the other’s gloved one while his left fingertips caressed his jawline, gently raising his head so their eyes could meet. At that point, the pink in the Blackstar demon’s cheeks was replaced by the shade of red beet. He even closed his eyes as Kylo moved closer. The Flamebird prince gently stroked his supposed enemy’s hand and brought their lips together. 

Fire rushed through his veins at that contact, burning the last of the polymers away. He could easily snap the other’s neck. Hell, he could even just _will_ him dead, but he knew he would never do something like that. He was certain he has found a treasure just as much as he was of the fact that this was the other’s first kiss. 

***

“It’s a bit late for that, but what’s your name?” Kylo asked as they walked side by side back towards the speeder. It was technically a one-seater, but its engine had been modified by Kylo himself under the tutelage of his uncle, the werewolf Chewie, and he was more than certain that it could carry two. And if the passenger had to press close to him - well, surely there was no harm in that. 

His new companion shot him a quick glance and bit his lip. 

Ever since they’ve left the belfry behind, Kylo had made several new discoveries about him. 

One of his horns was shorter than the other, his tail strangely resembled an eel’s, and he looked incredible with Kylo’s scarf wrapped around his neck and shoulders. 

“Come on. I’ve already proven to you I’m not planning to hurt you, didn’t I?”

Kylo was delighted to see how his words renewed the pink tinge in the other demon’s cheeks, though he found it strange how reserved he was, considering his battle prowess. The general consensus among the Flamebird folk was that the Blackstars were a debauched bunch of rape-loving, genocidal monsters. He was aware that propaganda had a hand in this, but it was still odd to find someone his own age or probably even older who had never been kissed. Somehow it worried him. 

“It’s Hux. Armitage Hux.” The other muttered through the fabric of Kylo’s scarf. 

The Flamebird prince had to collect himself for several moments before he could find his voice again. 

“… _what?_ Hux? Related to Brendol Hux?”

“So you’ve heard of father.” The other demon, _Armitage_ , laughed mirthlessly. 

“But… but your father… isn’t he on the High Command, second only to the Supreme Leader himself?”

Armitage nodded, burying his face even deeper into the woollen fabric of the scarf. 

“So why… how…”

The Blackstar’s feet stopped as he peered at Kylo. 

“Will you promise not to tell? Will you _promise_?”

“Yes.”

Armitage began to walk again, though this time he extracted his hands from the pockets of his jacket. Even though they were covered in leather, the right one kept relentlessly scratching at the back of the left. 

“Supreme Leader Snoke. He… uh… he has a special way of maintaining his power and dominance over the rest. He feeds on blood. On blood of his subjects. He rarely kills them, no. Famines have whittled our numbers down too much.

“The members of High Command are usually safe from that treatment. I was a member of this circle. As you’ve said, I’m a weak, flightless, magic-null runt, but I’m good with weapons and technology. Always been. I’ve designed them, perfected them. Yet the other day the Supreme Leader ordered me to visit his chambers in order to sate him. It entails… it means… it… I…”

Armitage stared right in front of him, though it was clear his eyes didn’t actually see any of the snow drifts or collapsed walls. His right fingertips seemed to be set on scratching through the layers of both leather and skin.

“He only said so in order to put father in line. It was never about me. I never mattered anything, no matter what my accomplishments were. No matter how hard I’ve worked to get where I was. No one ever favoured me, especially father.”

“Didn’t he at least defend you?” Kylo whispered. 

“He… he protested. But only because of that underlying reason. Only because it was a blow to his own dignity. Once the Supreme Leader made it clear he won’t back off, father dragged me away and ordered me to satisfy the Supreme Leader in any way he fancied. He wanted to put stuff on my face and dress me _pretty_. He said it could be an opportunity to bring even more prestige to the family. I…” Armitage’s words trailed off. 

“Shh… you’re safe now.” Kylo attempted to comfort him, even though his own bones were chilled down to the marrow. 

“I’ve worked so hard, yet in the end… in the end… I’m not a traitor. Not a traitor. But I just can’t…” Armitage’s voice almost broke towards the end. 

At that point it took Kylo’s magic to keep him walking straight, as the other was too lost in those memories. 

Fortunately, in just a few moments they’ve reached the speeder. 

Once they have, Armitage seemed to have been roused from his stupor. He gazed towards the city he knew was in the distance. Chandrila. He started to back away, only to bump into Kylo. 

“N-no. I can’t…”

It was easy for Kylo to catch his thoughts at that point, and what he saw punched the breath out of his chest. The fear of being arrested, followed by the idea of piercing his own chest with a sharpened piece of metal, of plunging a silver needle hidden within the sleeve through his brain. 

Seeing no other option, Kylo put his fingers to Armitage’s temple and the other immediately collapsed. 

Armitage’s body was disconcertingly light as he picked it up and loaded it onto the speeder. 

He sat behind it, wrapping his left arm around the narrow waist as his right hand pressed the clutch. The speeder roared to life. It lifted off and hurtled towards the capital, whirling the snow underneath. 

Kylo knew it wouldn’t be easy. 

He couldn’t just sneak a stranger into the palace. 

But on the other hand, he had never felt such a strong urge to protect someone. 

Or such confusion.

As long as he could remember, he had always admired his mother’s wisdom. He had always tried to obey her. But she absolutely _loathed_ every member of the Blackstar Empire. He could understand her all too well. The Alderaan peninsula, where she grew up, was levelled with the ground, her adoptive parents with it. Up until now he thought she only needed to point and he’d swoop in and annihilate anyone she wanted. He might not have agreed with his fellow citizens and many of them might’ve seen him as a threat, but still. They were the people of the Flamebird kingdom. And Blackstars – Blackstars used to be executed on spot, because Blackstars were remorseless monsters, not delicate, blushing creatures. 

With Armitage hidden under his coat and scarf and wings, he glided through the gate. No one stopped him. At that point, the light of the day made way to the gloom of night, and the Hanna Castle seemed welcoming with all those golden lights spilling from within. 

He used to marvel at this sight; at the flood of lights, so beautiful, so enchanting, each being the proof of a wondrous cycle of life with its own little mysteries. 

But now they all felt so foreign…

Yet when he parked the speeder at his private platform and gently nudged Armitage awake, instead of confusion over that change in his heart he felt as if he gained something precious. He took Armitage’s hand and, smiling, led him to his quarters. 

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments will be much appreciated.


End file.
